Why the state soda tax lost its fizz

Health commissioner uncaps how opponents soured a plan for a levy on sugary drinks

By CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY Staff writer

Published 12:00 am, Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Photo: Will Waldron

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State Health Commissioner Dr. Richard F. Daines says his plan for a tax on sugary drinks is an idea ahead of its time. He predicts a levy will be eventually approved in an effort to fight obesity. (Times Union archive)

State Health Commissioner Dr. Richard F. Daines says his plan for a tax on sugary drinks is an idea ahead of its time. He predicts a levy will be eventually approved in an effort to fight obesity. (Times Union

With humor, illustrations and political acumen, the state's top doctor conducted a postmortem on the proposed tax as if it were a favorite patient who died on the operating table.

Daines and Gov. David Paterson first proposed a sales tax on sugar-sweetened drinks in 2009, and in 2010, they put it forward as an excise tax that would raise $464 million and help plug the budget. The state's financial crisis gave the idea legs, but in the end, it fizzled.

The skillful counter-attack by the beverage industry that knew if the tax passed in a large state like New York, other states would follow.

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The "dead-on-arrival" tactic used by the opponents to portray the tax as hopeless, giving legislators an excuse to ignore it.

The instability of the state Senate, making legislators unwilling to take a stand on the controversial proposal. Daines said many told him privately that they thought it was a good idea.

Daines admiringly praised his opponent's opening move.

"They convinced the opinion market that the tax was dead on arrival that it had absolutely no chance of approval," Daines said. "Of course if it were really dead on arrival, the beverage industry wouldn't have engaged so extensively in fighting it and finally defeating it seven months later."

The anti-soda-tax campaign spent nearly $13 million, Daines said.

"As a physician, I envy this naked straddle by the lobbyists," he said. "They declared it dead on Day 1 and then earned a $13 million insurance premium for keeping it dead. When I was practicing medicine, once I signed the death certificate I had to stop pocketing the insurance money."

But Daines said he raised public awareness, citing a recent episode of Law & Order SVU where the characters debated the benefits of the tax.

"The story of tobacco tells you that often the first time you propose something, people say 'You are crazy, it will never happen, you are nannies, you are Nazis,' " he said. "Three, four or five years later it is done, and people can't imagine why it took so long."

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But Daines isn't sure he'll be around for that. It's only been a week since Andrew Cuomo was elected as governor, but the governor-elect hasn't reached out to Daines. When asked if he'd like to keep his job as the state's top doctor, Daines declined to respond, but said "I love the job."